OECD countries could achieve substantially greater improvements in children's lives by directing additional social spending towards early childhood education and care, employment and income support, and essential services, according to a press release issued on 5 October 2026 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The new report, Spending Better for Children through Social Policy, applies a value-for-money framework to examine how childhood poverty, material deprivation, educational achievement, and health are shaped by the level, allocation, and design of social spending. It also considers implications for long-term public expenditure.